


Pet Project

by Hils



Series: The Adventures of Tater's Pet Hedgie [1]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Friendship, Gen, tater's pet hedgie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-18
Updated: 2016-10-18
Packaged: 2018-08-23 05:47:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8316193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hils/pseuds/Hils
Summary: Tater invites Jack over for video games and bonding. He introduces Jack to his special friend.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tiptoe39](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tiptoe39/gifts).



> A while I made [this Tumblr post](http://hils79.tumblr.com/post/147236940069/in-honour-of-tiptoe39s-upcoming-birthday-i-found) about Tater and his pet hedgie. Somehow it has turned into fic.
> 
> Thanks to Tippy for the beta work. This is all for you bb.

The first thing Jack sees when he arrives at Tater's place is a giant stag statue standing just inside the gate. It makes an impression. Mostly because it’s covered with the same stuff they use on glitter balls and it’s been positioned so that the sun catches it during the day and makes it sparkle. It’s like nothing Jack has ever seen before, but it seems to be very Tater, and there's more of them the closer to the house he gets, in a variety of silver, gold and bronze colours. 

He’s still staring at them when Tater opens the door. 

"Zimmboni, come in! You like stags? Can give you name of supplier if you want one.”

Jack tries to imagine one of them standing in the middle of his apartment, then he imagines Bitty’s face when he sees it, and it’s all Jack can do to stop himself laughing out loud.

“No, thank you,” he answers politely as he hangs up his jacket.

“Come,” Tater says as he steers Jack into the living room. “I give you tour before I kick ass at Mario Kart."

Jack smiles, hoping he doesn’t look as nervous as he feels. When Tater had invited him over for a day of video games Jack had pointed out that it wasn’t really his thing. Which, in retrospect, was a mistake when Tater spent the rest of the day, and the night, telling anyone who would listen that Jack too scared to take on the mighty challenge of Mario Kart.

And then to make matters worse he’d asked the Haus group text what Mario Kart was. Really, he should have just quietly asked Bitty because he then had to endure the chirps of his friends too which had ended with him immediately going out, buying a Wii before getting tips from the guys at the Haus and practicing in every spare moment he had. This is the first time he’s spent time with any of the Falconers outside of team stuff and he wants Tater to like him, but he also doesn’t like to lose. At anything. Ever. 

The statues outside had led Jack to expect more gaudy decor inside, but Tater's house is surprisingly tasteful. There's some hockey memorabilia on the walls, Tater's first Falcs jersey and a case containing the puck from his first NHL goal. It's all surprisingly normal. There's a photo above the fireplace of Tater surrounded by a large group of people. The woman standing next to him is clearly his mother. She has the same kind eyes that Tater does, and there’s a relaxed smile on her face that Jack has seen plenty of times after a good game. The man which Jack presumes is Tater’s father looks more stern, but there’s no mistaking the Mashkov nose and chin. In fact, looking at all the people in the photo, there’s little bits of Tater in each of them.

"Miss them," Tater says wistfully. "They all back in Russia. See over summer, but not the same."

Jack places a hand on Tater's shoulder and gives it a gentle squeeze. It's all he can think to do. It's bad enough for Jack with his family being up in Canada. He can't imagine what it must be like for everyone to be on another continent.

Tater stands still for a moment as they both look at the photo, then appears to shake himself out of his thoughts and smiles.

"Almost forget! Very important person you must meet." 

He pulls Jack through the house and into a den on the far side of the kitchen. There's a cage that comes up to Jack’s waist in height and runs along the entire back wall. It's mostly made of plastic and has three stories connected by ramps. Jack is almost scared to see what's in there, but Tater nudges him forward, so Jack peers inside. He's not sure where to look until he sees movement in one of the corners. He leans in and a small pink nose presses against the cage.

"This колючки. He best."

Jack's going to have to get Tater to repeat the name, but for now all he can say is, "You have a pet hedgehog?"

Tater nods, his face lit up with excitement. “Is lonely in big house all by self. I go to pet store and think I get dog or cat, but then I see him and I know I’m have to have him.”

Tater opens the cage and carefully picks up the hedgehog so Jack can see. Jack knows nothing about hedgehogs, but he guesses it isn’t fully grown yet. The hedgehog seems quite content in Tater’s hands and is snuffling curiously in Jack’s direction. 

“You want to hold?”

Jack freezes. He has to admit that he’s curious what holding a hedgehog feels like, but along with that comes the immediate fear that he’s going to do it wrong, or drop him or any number of other awful things. This is why he tends to shy away when people ask him if he wants to hold their babies. And this is Tater who, for whatever reason, has decided he wants to be Jack’s friend. He really doesn’t want to mess this up

“No, thank you.”

Tater eyes Jack for a second and Jack almost wilts under the gaze, as though Tater can see inside his head.

“Is okay, Jack.” Tater finally says. “I trust you. You not drop him. Hold out hands.”

It’s the first time since coming up with the nickname that Tater has called him Jack, not Zimmboni, and he’s looking at Jack with such open trust in his eyes that Jack can’t bring himself to say no again. He takes a deep breath and holds out as his hands as requested.Tater pulls out a blanket from the cage and drapes it over Jack’s hands before settling the hedgehog down on top of it. 

“He need familiar scent or he get scared. He very nervous with me when I first get, but he used to me now.”

The hedgehog is heavier than Jack expected, and he’s squirming a lot in Jack’s hands, but he settles down after a moment and Jack has to admit it’s kind of nice. He’s never had a pet before. There wasn’t really time with all the hockey training he was doing and the games his dad was playing. He’d sometimes wondered what it might have been like to have a dog. Someone to play with and pet who had no expectations of him. 

Maybe. Someday. Bitty would like having a dog, Jack thinks. 

“He like you.” Tater declares after a minute of watching them together. “I can tell. Can stroke if you want. Like this.”

Tater guides Jack’s hand down the hedgehog's back. For a moment Jack is worried about the sharp spines, but the way he’s petting, they’re hard like plastic but they don’t hurt. 

“Thank you,” Jack whispers almost under his breath. “This is really nice.”

Not just getting to hold Tater’s pet, but being here at all. 

“Okay,” Tater says. “I teach you how to hold hedgehog, now I teach you how to lose at Mario Kart.”

He plucks the hedgehog and blanket from Jack’s hands and puts them back in the cage.

And, to Jack’s shame, he loses quite astoundingly at Mario Kart. 

“You need Wii version of bag skate,” Tater chortles when they move into the kitchen to cook some dinner. “Lots of practice. But is good the great Zimmboni bad at something after you beat me at drawing and all other things we do for Falcs TV.”

Jack listens as Tater chatters away about the various dumb things the PR guys have had them do, and he realises this is the first time since he moved to Providence that he’s felt really comfortable. It’s not the Haus and it never will be but he feels...happy.

“Hey, Tater?”

“Hm?”

“Thanks for inviting me over. I’ve had fun.”

Tater slings an arm across Jack’s shoulder and pulls him in for a hug. “You welcome any time.”

**Author's Note:**

> Tater's glitterstag statues are based on [these](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v461/Hils/8CD96C78-167D-47A2-9F0A-B09F8ECD40C7_zpsnycfrvqx.jpg)


End file.
